A study published today reveals that girls are failing to pull ahead of boys in maths due to heightened fear and apprehension over number problems.
Research shows that girls are more likely to suffer from “mathematics anxiety,” which holds them back in tests.
Academics from Oxford and Cambridge universities state that girls and boys perform roughly the same in independently-set maths exams. However, they warn that girls will pull ahead without increased “feelings of apprehension, dislike, tension, worry, frustration, and fear” when faced with sums.
The study also suggests that high levels of maths anxiety nationally may blame the low numbers of students choosing to study the subject to an advanced level beyond the age of 16.
Dr. Dénes Szűcs from Cambridge’s Department of Experimental Psychology states: “Mathematics anxiety warrants attention in the classroom because it could have negative consequences for later mathematics education, particularly since it develops during the primary school years.
“Mathematics anxiety could account for the reasons why only seven per cent of pupils in the UK study mathematics at A-level and why the number of students taking maths at university level declines.” The study published in the journal Behavioural and Brain Functions investigates 433 British secondary school children.
Researchers present children aged 11 to 15 with a maths test and ask them to complete a questionnaire used to assess their physiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural reactions to answering the questions.
The study reveals no difference between girls and boys in straight test results but finds that girls display higher levels of mathematical anxiety. The study finds that heightened levels of fear affect girls’ performance in maths exams. Without this anxiety, girls are likely to pull ahead of boys in tests.
Nationally, boys perform as well as girls in maths, with girls pulling ahead in almost all other academic disciplines. Last year, some 62 per cent of girls achieved five good GCSEs, compared with just 55 per cent of boys.
The academics insist that researchers do not understand the reasons for maths anxiety well, although they offer several explanations. “Some suggest that the different ways in which boys and girls are socialised during childhood may differentially affect the anxiety experienced by males and females in certain situations,” the study states.
“This hypothesis… argues that because mathematics traditionally views a male domain, socialisation may lead females to think of themselves as mathematically incompetent, causing them to avoid mathematics. When females do participate in mathematical activities, they may experience more anxiety than males.”
Content contributed and edited by Graeme Paton, Education Editor, reported from London, UK, sourced by telegraph.co.uk
